The Rugby gazette and east Tennessee news. (Rugby, Morgan Co., Tenn.) 1884-188?, 1887-03-19

hazard, Captain Eads' daughter, dated a
Nassau Saturday last, in which Captain
Eads was said to be suffering from conpes
ton OF the lungs and to be so low that there
was little likelihood of his recovery.
Captain Eads took heavy cold last De-
cember and went to Lakewood, N. j.,
where his health was improving when he
was called to Washington on business con
nected with the Tehuantepec Ship Railway
Dill. He returned to New York January
2S so feeble that DR.. Helmulth at once or.
dered him to Nassau, and he sailed for the
Bahamas February with his wife and
Mrs. Hazard.
captain James B. Eads was sixty-seyen
years OF age He was born in Lawrenceburg,
ma, May 70 1920, and with his parents went TO
81. Louis in 1893. He was emphatically a self.
made man, having left school at the age Of thir-
teen, at which age he began as clerk in a drv.
goods store. He evinced disposition to be
an engineer while in this business. All his
spare time was devoted to mathematics
pertaining to the object which he had re-
solved to master. In 1S42 he constructed a div.
lhR-Deu boat to recover cargoes Of sunken
steamers. In 1915 he erected at st. Louis the
hrst glass works west Of the Ohio river. In
1900 ne made proposition to the Government
to remove the snags and wrecks which then
oostructed the channels Of the Mississippi
ONO and Arkansas rivers This passed the
lower branch OF Congress in 1857, but want
OF time prevented action by the Senate
On the invitation, in 1861 OF President Lin.
coin, Mr.. Eads designed and constructed
q powerful squadron OF eight steamers de-
signed for use on the Mississippi, having
q speed of nine knots an hour, and aggre.
eating x 0nO
equipped and plated, within 100 DAYS from the
time he received notice to do the work. They
were the first iron-clad vessels constructed by
the Government. In 1888 he designed and
constructed six turreted iron vessels, all heayi.
~ plated. In 1874 he designed and construct.
ed the great steel-arched bridge over the Mis-.
slsslppi river at st. Louis. This work is re-
nowned among the great engineering feats OF
the century, and its construction was regarded
at the time by scientific men as the solution of
great problem in the engineering world.
The browning work Of his life was that OF
deepening the mouth OF the Mississippi river
This was In 1874. His plans for this work met
with strenuous opposition from Government
engineers, but Captain Eads succeeded in hav-
ing them adopted by proposing to do the work
without remuneration until he showed Congress
that his work was accomplished and practical.
Permission was granted in 1875. and in June of
that year the construction Of what was then and
is still known as the 'jetties" was begun, and
the completion OF the work as he had planned
1t was accomplished.
In 1879 Mr.. Eads proposed his ship railway
across the American isthmus 1t Is Familiarity
known to the American public as the Tehuante-
pee or Nicaragua Ship railway The scheme
received the Endorsement of Congress during
the session just closed. In the month of Au.
gust, 1884 he was awarded the Albert medal by |
The Society OF Arts in England, In recognition
of the valuable aid which his services have rem.
aGged to the commerce OF the world